Julia's Story
by jn208505
Summary: This is a story about the Carrigan family. It takes place a few months before the movie begins. It's told from Julia's point of view, becasue I feel she has been vastly over looked! It's about family, and friendship. A lil fluffy, but dramatic. please R
1. Chapter 1

Julia's Story

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters.

A/N: This is a story about Julia Carrigan. I feel that she is vastly overlooked in the movie, and have always wanted to see interaction between her and her siblings. Here is a story about the Carrigans, enjoy!

A/N: This takes place a few months before "Across the Universe"

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Ch.1

Julia lay on her stomach on top of her bed flipping through a magazine, as she slowly kicked her legs in the air above her back, and enjoyed the breeze of the fan on her skin. It was a lazy summer day. Summer was her favorite time of year. There were many reasons for her to like it, the weather was warm, school was out, she could spend all her time doing whatever she wanted, and most importantly, the whole family was home!

Julia's family is a typical, upper-middle class family. Her father's a ruthless lawyer, who won almost every case. He was a strong man, but if you looked hard enough, you could find a spot of love and compassion underneath his strong-composed exterior. Her mother's a homemaker and socialite in their community. She was in charge of many fundraisers and benefits, and ran a book club for the many other socialite/ homemaker women, that graced the neighborhood.

Julia adored both of her parents, but they were usually very busy, giving her a lot of time to herself. Her family doesn't stop after her parents though. She has two older siblings. Max is the oldest. He is her 21 year old, Princeton student, rule bending brother. Then there is her 17 year old sister Lucy. Lucy is happy and carefree, and why shouldn't she be. She's dating the most popular football player, has great friends, and seems to be beloved by everyone in their neighborhood. Finally there is Julia, little Julia. While she didn't mind being the youngest in the family, she did mind being so much younger than her siblings. She is only 12.

Max and Lucy grew up together, and occasionally hung out together, while she was stuck at home. She loved both of her siblings, but every now and then a twinge of jealousy snuck up when they would share a memory or an inside joke. All and all, Julia loved her life, especially lazy summer days like this.

That evening the entire family gathered at the dinner table. Julia sat in her usual seat, to the right of Lucy, and adjacent to her father, who was sitting at one of the heads of the table. Dinners with the whole family were always livelier than usual. Max always challenged their father, and Lucy always sided with her brother. This dinner, was actually fairly calm. Max had been home for over 4 weeks now, so she guessed her father was running out of things to criticize.

"What did you kids do today?" her mother asked

"I hung out with Emily, then Daniel took me to the park for a picnic" Lucy answered with a grin.

"How romantic" Max said in a mocking tone, smiling at Julie, who giggled. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Mom, can I go to Annabelle's tonight?" Julia asked

"Fine with me" she answered, looking over to Mr. Carrigan, who nodded his approval.

"Just be home by 9" Mrs. Carrigan told her. Julia gasped.

"NINE! That's not fair, Max and Lucy never come home till 11 or 12." She said with a small whine.

"Don't whine Julia, they're older, they can stay out a few hours longer, when you're there age, you can stay out later. If you pout anymore, you won't be able to go out tonight" Mr. Carrigan told her sternly.

"Yes sir" Julia said glumly, turning back to her plate. She felt Lucy reach over and give her arm a comforting squeeze. She too understood what a pain their Dad could be. Dinner continued with her parents discussing her father's job. Then as they were passing around desert, Mrs. Carrigan piped up.

"Now you three remember that your father and I are going to the Hamptons with the Rodgers, right?" she asked her children.

"Oh that's right! We get a party weekend!" Max exclaimed with a smirk.

"Maxwell!" Mr. Carrigan yelled.

"Or not.." Max responded as he shoveled a forkful of pie into his mouth.

"When are you guys heading out?" Lucy asked.

"Tomorrow after supper, it will be great to spend a relaxing weekend away" Mrs. Carrigan said with a smile.

Once all of the plates had been cleared, Julia put on her shoes, grabbed her bike, and peddled her way down the street to her best friend, Annabelle's house. Annabelle happily greeted her on the porch when she arrived. Annabelle was about Julia's height, but with short black hair that rested just above her shoulders.

The girls went inside, quickly said hello to her parents and older sister, then headed upstairs to her friends bedroom, where Julia happily found her other friend, Nancy, resting on a beanbag chair in Annabelle's room. Nancy was a few inches shorter than the other 2 girls and she had long chocolate brown hair.

The girls spent their time flipping through magazines and talking about kids at school, mostly the boys.

"So what are you two doing this weekend?" Annabelle asked.

"I've got nothing planned" Nancy replied

"Me either, Jules?" Annabelle asked.

"I'm open, my parents are going to the Hamptons with the Rodgers! So I should have some free time!" Julia explained.

"Ooo, very nice!" Nancy commented. Julia smiled.

"So, what should we do?" Julia asked.

"Why don't we go to Chino's" Nancy suggested. Chino's was a popular middle school hang out for the local kids. Julia had only been there once, but had always wanted to go back.

"Sounds fun" Annabelle replied happily.

"Oh I'm definitely in" Julia added.

"Want to meet here at 7, then head over" Annabelle suggested

The other two agreed. Julia absentmindedly glanced at her watch.

"Oh Crap! It's 8:59, my Dad is going to kill me!" Julia exclaimed, jumping off the floor and franticly putting on her shoes.

"Hurry Julia, you can make it!" Nancy said dramatically with a huge smile.

"Shut up!" Julia said, throwing a pillow at her head as she headed toward the door.

"See you at 7 tomorrow?" Annabelle asked quickly.

"Yep, bye!" Julia replied. With that she tore down the stairs, grabbed her bike and peddled down the street as fast as she could. It was a moment like this that she wished her street was much shorter. She quickly parked her bike in the driveway and ran inside the house, to find her father sitting in the parlor, obviously waiting for her.

"Hi Daddy" she greeted him nervously.

"You're late Julia" he said, as he swished the brandy in his glass.

"Only by a few minutes, and I'm really sorry, I just lost track of time" Julia explained franticly.

"Well, you can spend this weekend learning to figure out a better way to keep track of time" he replied.

"What? Daddy, it's only 10 after 9, and I said I'm sorry" she told him

"Don't argue, to your room, we'll discuss this in the morning" Mr. Carrigan said firmly. Julia grunted, and headed over to the stairs, passing her mother, who smiled and stroked her blonde hair sympathetically, knowing her daughter's frustration.

"Night sweetie" Mrs. Carrigan called.

"Night mom" Julia said as she slowly climbed the stairs to her room. Once upstairs, she punched her pillow angrily, and flopped on her bed. She lay fuming for a few moments before grabbing her pajamas and heading to the bathroom she shared with her siblings for a shower. She took a long shower, which helper her calm down, then got dressed, braided her hair and headed back to her room, bumping into Lucy in the hall.

"You're back early" Julia said when she saw her.

"Yeah, the party got busted, so Daniel, Emily, her new boyfriend, JJ and I headed out, I just decided to come home early." Lucy explained

"At least you didn't get busted at the party" Julia said

"Yeah, but I heard you got busted for coming home late" Lucy said with a smirk

"Ten minutes, it's so not fair" Julie replied.

"Are you headed heading to bed?" Lucy asked her sister. Julia shrugged.

"I guess, might read a bit" she responded.

"Want to help me take the new Cosmo quiz?" Lucy asked.

"You have Cosmo? That's too cool, yeah I'm there!" Julie said eagerly, as she followed her sister to her room. The two girls plopped on her bed and took the quiz, read the stories and enjoyed laughing with each other. Suddenly, they heard the door shut, Max was home, and by the sounds of stumbling and furniture being knocked around, he was obviously drunk. The girls looked at each other and gave a knowing smile.

"I think that's my cue to go to bed" Julia said.

"I think so, night" Lucy said.

"Night" Julia replied as she climbed off the bed and headed to the door. As she walked down the hall, she passed the stairs and saw Max dragging himself up.

"Hi drinky" Julia said giggling.

"Hi Jules" he slured.

"Where were you tonight" she asked curiously

"All over this damn town, now I need to be in my bed…And you need to be in yours, it's late little sister" Max said, trying to sound strict, but the slurring made it difficult.

"Night big brother" Julia said, as they gave each other a kiss on the cheek before heading toward their rooms.

The next morning came very early. Julia was awoken by the noise of her father bringing down suitcases from the attic. 'That's right, they're leaving tonight' she thought to herself. She was excited for this weekend. Normally when her parents left, they either took Julia with them or left her with her grandparents. This was the first time they were leaving her home with Max and Lucy. She couldn't wait, she was going with her friends to Chino's tonight, and she could spend Saturday and Sunday doing whatever she pleased!

Julia got herself up and ready and headed down to breakfast. Only Max was missing from the breakfast table, but this was usual. Julia greeted her parents and sister warmly, before sitting down to a plate of eggs and bacon that were waiting for her.

"Julia, I've decided your punishment" Mr. Carrigan began

"My punishment?" Julia questioned, a bit worried

"Yes, for your tardiness. You can't be out after 6pm. If you want to see Annabelle or Nancy, you may in the day, but you can't leave our street and you must be home before 6." He finished.

"Oh, but Dad…" Julia started.

"Don't argue, it's just for the weekend, besides, we're letting you stay home with your siblings, like you've always wanted to." Mr. Carrigan retorted. Julia sighed, nodded, and returned into her breakfast. After breakfast, Mrs. Carrigan came over and kissed her youngest daughter on the head.

"Want to come help me pack honey?" she asked. Julia looked up and smiled at her.

"Sure Mom" she replied and followed her mother up stairs to her room.

"Why is Dad so upset with me?" Julia asked her mom as took a seat next to the empty suitcase on the floor.

"He's just stressed, you know how he gets" Mrs. Carrigan reassured her daughter as she began choosing outfits from her closet.

"But he's overreacting, and you know it. I was only 10 minutes late, 15 at the most!" Julia whined as she folded clothes and placed them in the suitcase.

"I know you hate hearing this, but you're our baby. And with Max gone most of the year, he just wants to hold on" Mrs. Carrigan said as she picked out another outfit. Julia groaned loudly.

"Don't harp on it Julia, you're going to have a fun weekend with Max and Lucy, and you get to spend all day with your friends. I'll make sure that at least 1 of them is home until 6, so they won't be able to do whatever they want either" She told her daughter. Julia just shrugged and continued packing.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters

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Once she had finished helping her mother, she got on her bike and headed over to Annabelle's to give her the bad news. She was let in the house by her sister, and made her way up to her friend's room.

"Hey Jules, what's up?" Annabelle greeted when she opened her door, surprised to see her friend.

"Bad news! I got busted for being late last night" Julia said glumly, walking into Annabelle's room and sitting on her bed.

"What happened?" Annabelle asked concerned.

"I'm not allowed out after 6pm this weekend, they're even making Max and Lucy take turns staying home until 6 to make sure I come home. This sucks! I really wanted to go to Chino's" Julia whined.

"What are you whining about? This is perfect!" Annabelle exclaimed.

"How exactly is this perfect?" Julia asked grumpily

"We weren't going to leave until 7, just go home at 6, wait for them to leave, then come back over…" Annabelle said slyly. Julia raised an eyebrow.

"Oh Please! I'd never be able to pull that off" Julia told her.

"Are you, or are you not Max Carrigan's sister?" Annabelle asked her

"Er- yeah" Julia replied

"Then you WILL be able to pull this off, no problem!" Annabelle assured her. Julia sighed.

"Fine, but if I get caught, you're going down with me" Julia said while giving her friend a light push.

"Deal" Annabelle responded. "He Jules…"

"Yeah?" she replied

"We're going to Chino's tonight!!" Annabelle said smiling

"I know!" Julia gushed. The girls spent a few more hours together, and called Nancy, to let her know the situation before Julia headed home to say good bye to her parents, and be in before curfew.

Julia got home around 4. Her parents wanted to be on the road by 4:30 and were franticly trying to get everything in the car and ready to go. Once they got everything packed, they called all three kids into the foyer to say goodbye. Mr. Carrigan reminded them of the basic house rules, and of Julia's punishment. Julia tried to act upset, but the thought of breaking a rule was very exciting to her, and she had to hold back a smile. Then Mrs. Carrigan gave Max, Lucy, and Julia hugs and kisses, before they headed out the door and off to the Hamptons.

"Well I've got to get a shower, Daniel's picking me up at 6:30!" Lucy said happily, bounding up the stairs.

"Okay, I think I'm going to head out now, or wait, Jules, did you want to go out at all before 6?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine" she replied.

"Fine, you're in for the night then, I know mom and dad are gone, but I'm keeping an eye on you" Max said, bopping her on the nose with his index finger. Julia just smiled.

"Have fun tonight Max" she told him, as he headed out the door. She glanced around the house and sighed with relief before heading up to her room to start to get ready. She dug through her closet until she found a white flowy skirt that went just past her knees, and a light pink tank top. Julia put them on, and sat at her vanity to start fighting with her long blonde hair, when Lucy's head popped in her door.

"Hey, I'm heading out, I'll- wait, where are you going?" Lucy asked looking surprised

"Er- nowhere" Julia replied, annoyed with her own stupidity for not waiting until her sister left before she got ready.

"Then why are you all dressed?" Lucy asked quizzically.

"I'm just pretending, I mean you and Max get to go out, and I'm stuck home" Julia replied with a bit of a pout.

"I'm sorry you're stuck home, but don't worry, this weekend will be over before you know it" Lucy told her reassuringly, as she came to stand behind her, lean over and wrap her arms around Julia's upper body.

"Yeah, I guess" Julia replied. A car honked out front.

"Well I'm off, I'll see you later tonight." Lucy said.

"Have fun with Daniel" Julia said with a smile

"I always do" Lucy said happily, and with that she bounded down the stairs and out the door. Julia grabbed her brush and went back to fixing her hair.

Finally it was quarter of 7 and Julia grabbed her purse and walked down the street to Annabelle's. Her friend's were waiting on the porch for her, they exchanged excited greetings then headed towards Chino's. It was a good 10 minute walk, but the girls didn't mind. They had so much fun laughing and talking that it seemed to take no time at all. When they got there, they were blown away. Almost every kid from their school was there.

They spent the night drinking malts with friends, and dancing to Beatles, Dave Clark Five, Supremes, Beach Boys, and more! Julia hadn't had this much fun in a long time. It wasn't until almost 10:30 that the girls headed out. The three sat on Annabelle's porch and talked for about 15 minutes before Julia decided to go back home.

"You're leaving now!" Nancy asked

"Yeah, I mean it's about 2 minutes till 11, and I don't want to push my luck" Julia said. Her friend's understood, hugged her goodnight, and Julia set off on a leisurely stroll toward her house. As she got to her driveway, she noticed the parlor light was left on, but shrugged it off and walked up the porch and opened the door. To her horror she saw her brother and sister sitting in the parlor waiting for her. They both leapt up when they heard her enter and ran toward her, Lucy got there first.

"Oh my god! Jules! Are you okay? We were so worried!" Lucy said franticly, as she hugged Julia tight, and kept kissing her cheek in relief.

"I, I'm okay" Julia stammered nervously, she knew she was dead.

"Where were you?" Max asked sounding annoyed. Lucy pulled her into the parlor and sat her down on the sofa, taking a seat next to her. Max sat on an ottoman facing his sisters.

"I was with Annabelle and Nancy" Julia told them

"Yeah, we figured that "Lucy said

"I asked _where_ you were, and don't lie Jules" Max asked again. Julia took a deep breath.

"I was at Chino's" Julia told them

"And that's the only place you went?" Lucy asked

"Yes!" Julia answered exasperatedly

"You can't just leave like that!" Max said

"We were so scared; I thought you had been taken!" Lucy said shakily

"I'm sorry" Julia mumbled quietly, looking at her feet. She never realized her siblings were so protective of her. Max and Lucy looked at each other.

"How do you want to do this? We each get one more night out this weekend?" Lucy asked Max.

"That looks like that's how it's going to be" Max replied.

"What are you talking about?" Julia asked, very confused

"We are not leaving you home alone anymore, is what we're talking about" Lucy told her. Julia felt hot and frustrated. She stood up and stomped one of her feet.

"Just because I am the youngest, doesn't mean I'm a baby, I don't need a babysitter! I thought this weekend would be fun, but now it sucks! I wish I was with Grandma and Grandpa!" Julia spat out as she ran up the stairs to her room. She flopped face-first on her bed, and let the tears fall freely onto her cheeks and the comforter. Her night had been wonderful until now. She felt alone and misunderstood.

Julia's world was spinning around faster then she could run. She continued crying on her bed. She didn't know how long she had been, she didn't care. Then suddenly she heard a knock at the door. Julia remained silent. The knock came again, this time louder. She sighed loudly

"What?" she asked, with her voice cracking from crying.

"Jules, can we come in?" Lucy asked from outside the door.

"No, the baby is sleeping in her crib!" Julia responded grumpily.

"Julia, please let us in, we want to talk with you…the three of us…as equals" Max told her. He sounded very sincere; Julia waited a moment before telling them to come in.

Max and Lucy entered slowly, and took a seat on either side of her on the bed. Lucy began stroking Julia's long blonde hair.

"Want to tell us about your night?" Lucy asked. Julia shrugged.

"Come on, we want to talk to you" Max pleaded gently. Julia looked over at him, he smiled at her as he took a sip from his beer.

"You need a drink to talk to me?" Julia asked him with a smirk. Lucy chuckled and reached over Julia's back and took the bottle out of his hand and put it on the bedside table. Max smiled knowingly at her. Then the three started cracking up. They started talking after that. Julia told them all about her night, even how Annabelle had convinced her to do it by saying it'd be okay because she was Max's sister.

Lucy found this to be hysterical. Julia told them how much fun she had that night, and that she wanted to go back. Max and Lucy talked about their nights, Julia could tell they were holding back a lot of their stories, but she didn't care. She finally felt like she was one of them. After talking for close to an hour, Lucy stood up and stretched.

"I've got to get to bed" Lucy gave both her siblings a hug and kiss on the cheek before departing.

"Are you going to leave me too?" Julia asked Max, pouting her lower lip.

"I think so, little sis, it's bed time" Max told her as he stood up. Julia brought herself onto her knees on the bed, facing him. She put her hands up just above her shoulders for him to grab, which he did. She had been doing that move ever since she was a toddler; it was kind of her special thing with him.

"Are you all better now?" he asked. Julia nodded.

"Are you going to go to bed now?" he asked.

"I have to get a shower first" she told him moving their arms up and down

"Take one in the morning Jules, it's really late" he instructed. Julia nodded.

"Hug goodnight?" She asked.

"Yes, hug goodnight" he said, pulling her in for a big hug.

"Love you Max" Julia said.

"Love you too, but hey, look at me" Max began, pulling out of the hug. Julia looked him strait in the eye

"Don't ever pull another stunt like you did tonight, you'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble if you do" he warned. Julia nodded.

"We good" he asked

"We're great!" she replied. He kissed her on the forehead before leaving the room. Julia sighed and sat down on her bed. Maybe this night didn't end badly; maybe this night was her best ever!

--

Please R&R. Lots more to come!!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

Ch. 3

The remainder of the weekend went very smoothly. And the story of Julia's escape on Friday night never made it to her parents. With the weekend over, her punishment had finally been lifted! Julia enjoyed spending the nights with her friends, grated she still couldn't stay out past 9.

The next weekend Julia and her friends were craving to return to Chino's, but she knew her father would disapprove. Annabelle suggested having a sleepover that night so they could stay out as late as they wanted to. Her parents were very lenient, and many families might say a bit negligent, however it worked for Annabelle, Julia and Nancy who were anxious to spend a Friday night out. After much pleading, and a little even a little help from Max, Mr. Carrigan agreed to letting Julia spend the night at Annabelle's.

Julia departed the Carrigan household late in the afternoon on Friday. She peddled her bike quickly up the street to her friend's house. Nancy arrived soon after, bringing what looked like half of her wardrobe.

"Nancy, what the heck is all this?" Julia asked confused

"I couldn't decide what to wear, especially since I heard Carl Gallins is going to be there tonight!" Nancy gushed. Carl was a boy in their class, whom Nancy had been drooling over since they were 6. Annabelle and Julia just rolled their eyes, and helped her carry all of her clothes into Annabelle's room. After a quick dinner, the three girls got ready and headed off down the street toward their new favorite hang-out.

There were just as many people there as the week before, if not more. The girls pushed through the crowds to find an empty booth. A few hours later the girls had consumed 3 malts each, shared a plate of fries, and danced to more songs then they could count. The night was getting better by every passing moment. By the time 11 o'clock rolled around the girls were exhausted. They were resting in a booth, trying to find more energy to stay longer when they noticed an older boy was watching them.

"Do either of you know who that guy is that's staring at us over there?" Julia asked nodding her head in his direction.

"No idea, but he's been watching us all night" Annabelle told them nonchalantly.

"What?" Nancy asked looking nervous.

"Yeah, he has been, I saw him when we came in" Annabelle said.

"That's a little creepy" Nancy said

"Yeah, just a bit" Julia added.

"What are you two talking about, it's flattery" Annabelle told them as she started standing up.

"Where are you going?" Julia asked curiously

"To say hi, I mean he's kind of cute…" Annabelle started. Julia grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her back down.

"Are you insane?!" Julia asked hoarsely.

"Annabelle, just stay here" Nancy pleaded. Annabelle sighed

"If you two don't want to go over, fine, but I'm going. And if you're going to yell at me, then you can go back to your own homes tonight" Annabelle said defiantly. Nancy and Julia shrugged at one another. They were used to Annabelle breaking rules and pushing her limits, not to mention neither of them would be allowed back in their own homes this late at night.

"Fine, but be careful" Nancy told her. Annabelle smiled at her friends as she got up and walked over to the mysterious watcher. Julia and Nancy watched nervously from afar as Annabelle started up a conversation with the young man, after a few minutes she started motioning towards her friends who were still sitting in the booth, trying to pretend they were doing something other than trying to figure out what Annabelle was talking about.

"What do you think they're saying?" Nancy whispered nervously

"I dunno, but I wish she'd hurry up, it's almost 12, and I'm getting ready to head back" Julia said as she grabbed for a handful of straws.

After a few minutes of silence, Nancy piped up

"Jules…" she began

"Hmmm?" Julia asked, not looking up from the house she was building out of straws.

"They're coming over here" Nancy told her.

"Who's coming?" Julia asked, still working on her straw house.

"Annabelle, and that guy" Nancy said. Julia's head snapped up. Nancy was right, they were coming straight over to the booth.

"Hey you two!" Annabelle greeted cheerily

"Hi" Julia greeted warily

"This is Ricky Waller, Ricky, this is Julia Carrigan and Nancy Dillon" Annabelle introduced. Julia and Nancy gave half smiles and waved.

"Hi girls!" Ricky greeted with a big smile. After a moment of silence, Julia realized that Ricky wasn't going anywhere, and Annabelle had no intention of leaving, so she decided to break the silence.

"So Ricky, do you go to the high school, or any local school?" Julia asked. Ricky chuckled.

"I went to the high school, but graduated 3 years ago. I've been working in town ever since" he explained. Julia and Nancy nodded, both mildly interested.

"3 years, that's when Max graduated, right?" Annabelle said.

"Er- yeah" Julia agreed.

"Who's Max?" Ricky asked.

"He's my older brother, did you know him?" Julia asked

"Max, Max…" Ricky said, thinking out loud.

"Max Carrigan" Annabelle interjected. Ricky perked up, he obviously recognized the name.

"Were you two friends?" Nancy asked.

"Naw, we hung out with different crowds" Ricky said sheepishly. The girls nodded.

"Ladies, it was great meeting you, but isn't it late for you?" Ricky asked them.

"Yes it is" the very tired Julia replied, for once starting to like this guy. Ricky smiled at her.

"Want me to walk you girls out?" he asked.

"Sure" Nancy replied

"Sounds wonderful" Annabelle added. The four slowly got out of the booth and headed outside. It was very dark outside. Julia had never been out this late and was amazed at how many older kids were out. She looked around in awe, the partying, the laughter, the drunkenness. She smiled to herself, Max had to be around her somewhere.

"JULIA CARRIGAN!" Annabelle shouted. Julia looked over and saw her friends and Ricky waiting for her at the corner. She started heading towards them, when she heard…

"Jules?" Julia looked the other way and saw Max calling to her looking very drunk and very confused.

"Hi Max…don't worry, I didn't sneak out this week" Julia said smiling innocently.

"Come here" Max told her. Julia walked over to her brother and he put his arm around her shoulder

"I'm too drunk to tell you what to do, but you need to go to bed" he slurred. Julia smiled at him.

"That didn't make sense, but I'm on my way" she said giving him a hug.

"Where are your friends at?" he asked.

"Over there" she said, nodding toward the corner where her friends and Ricky were standing and waiting for her. Max spotted Ricky and looked confused.

"Who's that guy with Annabelle and Nancy?" he asked sounding annoyed.

"Some guy, it's a long story, but don't worry, he's just walking us back" Julia said

"Jules, I'm too drunk to fully deal with this now, but you're going to be okay tonight right?" Max asked.

"Yes, I promise, I'll see you tomorrow" she said, giving him one last hug. Max glared at Ricky once more, then gave his sister a hug and a kiss on the forehead, before stumbling back to his friends as Julia walked over to her friends and Ricky.

"So that's your brother?" Ricky asked when Julia got back to them.

"Yeah, I thought you knew him…" Julia replied.

"I did, do, I just…are you two close?" Ricky asked stumbling over his own words. Julia raised her eyebrow.

"We are close, he's great…why?" she replied suspiciously.

"No reason" Ricky said. Nancy could tell Julia didn't like this guy any more than she did, and pulled her away from Annabelle and Ricky so they could walk a few paces in front of them. Finally they made it to Annabelle's yard.

"This is us" Annabelle told Ricky.

"I'm glad I got to meet you three tonight" Ricky told the girls. Julia and Nancy just nodded.

"Are you going to Chino's next week?" Annabelle asked him.

"Yeah, I hope to see you all there" he said with a smile

"We'll definitely be there, won't we?" Annabelle asked her friends.

"Yup" Nancy replied dryly.

"I won't be" Julia said matter of factly.

"Why not?" Nancy and Ricky asked at the same time, Nancy sounding desperate at the thought of being left with the other two.

"Max is going back to school" Julia replied.

"Oh" Ricky said, as her friends nodded.

"It's late, we better go in the house" Nancy said, starting to walk up the path.

"Night" the three girls said in unison. Ricky waved to them. As they started to walk away, he called Julia back over. She trudged over to him slowly, Nancy kept glancing at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I was just wondering, if your brother asks about me, could you not mention my name, it would be a favor." He told her.

"Why?" Julia asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it, just don't mention me, okay?" he asked.

"Oooookayyyyy, I'm going to go inside now" Julia said with a raised eyebrow, as she took a step away from him, he grabbed her arm. Julia's eyes opened wide in shock.

"What the-" she started

"Julia, I hope you come next week. If it's because you miss your brother that you're not coming, I can be a good substitute" he said.

"I like the one I have, thanks" Julia said, taking her arm out of his grip and heading towards the door.

"Night" Ricky called out, before turning back down the street.

Julia was happy to be back at Annabelle's house. The girls changed for bed and crawled into their sleeping bags.

"Wasn't tonight great?" Annabelle asked

"It was interesting" Nancy said

"What do you mean?" Annabelle questioned

"I had fun, but Ricky is a little weird" she told her

"He's cool, you just have to get to know him" Annabelle explained. Nancy didn't reply.

"What did you think Jules?" Annabelle asked her.

"I want to know who he is, I feel like he's hiding something" Julia replied. Annabelle started to explain that he was really cool, but Julia tuned her out. There were too many questions floating around her brain to listen. Finally Annabelle stopped talking and fell asleep. Julia lay awake in the dark for awhile, thinking over her night. She still didn't trust Ricky, but she was very interested in learning why he didn't want Max to know about him. But she was too tired to think it all out now. Julia sighed, and rolled over; she had all week to figure Ricky out, now it was time to sleep.

Thanks to everyone who has read so far, and thanks sooooo much to those who have reviewed!!

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters...

Ch. 4

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Julia was awoken by Annabelle's mother at 9:30 the next morning. She was exhausted, but knew she needed to get home by 10. Sleepily, she gathered up her things, said goodbye to her friends, and headed home. Julia greeted her parents good morning, when she came in. Her father wasn't happy she was as tired as she was, but he was too involved in his morning paper to push the issue.

Julia grabbed a muffin for a quick breakfast, then headed up to her room to listen to some records, and hopefully wake herself up. As she was situating herself on her bed with a magazine, her new Beach Boys record playing in the background, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in" Julia called while yawning.

"Hey sleepy" Lucy said as she pushed the door open

"Hi Luce" Julia replied, scooting over on her bed to make room for her sister, who in turn plopped down next to her.

"Were you really out at midnight last night?" Lucy asked curiously.

"What?" Julia asked, a little alarmed.

"Max came home really drunk last night and he said he saw you, I didn't know if you were really out then or if it was one of his drunken ramblings" Lucy said. Julia didn't know how to answer…would Lucy be mad?

"Jules, I'm asking you a question" Lucy asked, giving her a nudge.

"Yeah, I was out. I talked to him for a bit, then left. But we were on our way back to Annabelle's anyway" Julia said with a sigh.

"Julia, what the hell?" Lucy asked loudly

"Shhhh" Julia warned, not wanting their parents to overhear.

"I'll be more quiet if you tell me what you were doing?" Lucy asked loudly

"Fine!" Julia replied just as loudly. Suddenly, there was a knock at her door.

"What is all this noise?" Max asked as he pushed her door open, and trotted in looking very sleepy and a little hung over.

"Sorry Max, but she's the one who started yelling" Julia said accusingly, pointing at Lucy

"Only because you weren't listening, and you went out!" Lucy spat back

"You're the one that woke him up, you were yelling the most" Julia said loudly

"No, you said 'fine' the loudest, it was you" Lucy said annoyed.

"But-" Julia began…

"Enough! Both of you" Max yelled, as he took a seat on the foot of the bed, facing his sisters who were glaring at one another in the middle of the bed.

"Can you two just calm down?" he asked.

"I will if she will" Lucy said, giving Julia a shove. Julia gasped.

"Fine, at least I'm not the one who's always pushing" Julia said, pushing her sister back.

"You're one to talk" Lucy said angrily, giving her another shove. All of Julia's pent up frustration finally burst; she lunged forward toward her sister, knocking her back on the bed. Max quickly grabbed Julia around the middle and puller her back. Julia tried to lunge at her once more, but Max's arm was too strong. He pulled her back yet again, and sat her down next to him as Lucy was sitting back up. Both girls were frustrated, upset, and panting.

"What is going on? Come on, both of you need to relax." Max said, he was sounding more awake by the second.

"It's just she never listens, and I want her to be safe, but she doesn't listen" Lucy said with tears starting to fall.

"I try to listen, but you won't even let me explain anything, you just start yelling!" Julia said crying harder.

"Ok, now what was it you started talking about?" Max asked calmly. Both girls started answering at once. It sounded like a loud blubbery mess with accompanying finger pointing and arm waving.

"Wait, wait, one at a time…Luce, you first" Max said, stopping them.

"Okay, well I just came here to say hi, and ask her if you were right about seeing her out, and she FINALLY said yes, but wouldn't tell me why, that's why I yelled, I just wanted her to talk to me" Lucy finished. Max nodded

"Jules?" he prompted. Julia sniffled to calm herself before she started.

"Well she asked me, and I didn't know what to say, because I thought she might be mad, and then I was going to tell her, but she wouldn't stop yelling, and I got upset" Julia said sniffling. Max put his arm around her, and rubbed her arm.

"See this is good, you both want the same thing" Max said comfortingly. Lucy looked over and gave Julia a small smile.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and then pushed you" Lucy said

"I'm sorry I yelled back then tried to tackle you "Julia replied smiling. The girls leaned forward and gave each other a hug and kiss on the cheek. Lucy then sat down at the head of the bed, and rested her back against the head board, while Julia returned to leaning against Max, who was resting against the foot board.

"There, much better" Max said sighing happily as he watched his sisters make up.

"Now Jules, are you ready to tell us about last night? Because I want to hear this story too. I vaguely remember some older guy with you that you promised to tell me about today…" Max stated with a raised eyebrow. Lucy looked back in forth between the two, very intrigued; Julia took a deep sigh before beginning.

"Okay, well we went out to Chino's after dinner and it was really fun because it was all crowded and there was great music. We were dancing and we ate food and it was great. Then we sat down because we were tired and we noticed that there was this guy watching us, and Annabelle went to talk to him because she thought he was cute. She brought him over to meet us. Nancy and I didn't like him as much as Annabelle, but we still talked to him, then he said we should go home because it was late. So he walked us out, and that's when I saw Max, then we went to Annabelle's and he left. Annabelle really likes him though, but it was just a long night" Julia finally finished rambling.

Julia purposefully left out Ricky's name, not just because he asked her to, but because she wanted to find out who this guy was for herself. Max and Lucy just started at her with wide eyes, not fully knowing what to say to all that.

"Wow" Lucy said, after a long moment of silence.

"I have no idea where to begin" Max added. Lucy shook her head; she obviously felt the same way.

"There's not really anywhere to begin, it wasn't a bad night" Julia told them. Although she knew there was a lot to talk about, but she didn't think she'd be able to without revealing Ricky's identity.

"Who was that guy that Annabelle liked?" Lucy asked. Julia shrugged

"Don't really know" she replied

"What was his name, how old is he anyway?" Lucy continued asking. Julia had to think fast.

"I don't remember his name, I think he told us, but it was loud in there. And I think he's college aged" she added. Lucy and Max looked at each other, both seemed concerned.

"I don't know Jules, I don't think you should be hanging around this guy, he sounds a little sketchy" Lucy told her.

"But it's Annabelle he likes, and she likes him. It doesn't really have much to do with me" Julia said. Although she knew she was lying to them and to herself.

"Julia, guys in college shouldn't like girls your age" Max told her.

"You like me though" Julia pointed out.

"I'm your brother, I love you, but I don't want to date you" Max said.

"Yeah, because you're my brother" Julia replied. Max and Lucy both sighed.

"Well I don't because I'm your brother…okay, the girls I date are my age, I don't want to date your friends, they're too young. That's just how it works" Max explained.

"When older guys date girls your age, it's a really bad thing. You should really stay away from him" Lucy warned. Julia nodded.

"I understand" she responded.

"Alright good" Max said kissing her on the forehead. "Now I've got to get a shower" and with that he left the room.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Lucy asked with her head tilted in concern. Julia shook her head.

"No I'm okay, I know to be careful" she replied.

"Well I'm here if you need anything, ever and I can keep a secret." Lucy told her as she got off her bed.

"Thanks Luce, but I'm okay right now" Julia said with a smile.

"Alright" Lucy said as she got up and left her room. Julia flopped back on her bed, and went back to enjoying a peaceful day.

As the week went by, Julia spent her days hanging out with her friends. Annabelle talked about Ricky constantly, it drove Nancy crazy, but Julia listened intently. There had to be something she could learn about this mysterious guy. Back at home, Max spent his week packing during the day and partying at night. He was leaving to go back to Princeton on Friday. Julia avoided his box covered room. She hated when he left.

Sadly the week started to come to a close. It was Thursday night, Julia left Nancy's house before dinner, in hopes of spending a few more moments with her brother. Sadly it was just her and her parents for dinner. Julia putted around the house for awhile before heading into Max's room. She took a seat on his bed and looked around. His walls were graced with baseball and football teams, and the occasional bikini clad girl on a car. There were boxes pilled against the walls, just waiting to be carried out. There was one open suitcase left on the floor, obviously waiting to hold his most recently used things before being put in the car. Part of her really wanted to start unpacking in things, in hopes of delaying his departure, but Julia knew that would only make him mad.

She looked around for a magazine, but the only ones she could find were sports themed or pornographic. Julia scrunched her nose in disgust and ran to her room to get a few of hers. The clocked ticked away as she sat and read in Max's room. She could hear her parents listening to the radio downstairs, the door opening and closing, her father was obviously going in and out to smoke. Something he did every night after dinner. Suddenly she heard…

"Hey Jules…Julia? Julia?" Lucy was starting to sound panicked.

"I'm in here" Julia called, before her sister could scream.

"Oh thank god" Lucy said in relief as she walked in Max's room. Julia smiled at her.

"What are you doing in here?" Lucy asked looking around. Julia shrugged.

"Come on, let's get out of here, you can get up early with me tomorrow and say goodbye" Lucy suggested.

"I want to wait for him" Julia pleaded. Then they heard the door open loudly, and their father yell about the noise. Both girls knew Max was home.

"See I didn't have to wait long" Julia said smiling. Lucy shook her head,

"I'll be back in a bit, I want to get changed." Lucy said as she left the room. Julia went back to reading as she heard Max stumble up the stairs and to his door.

"Hey" he said surprised when he saw his sister.

"Hi" Julia greeted cheerily as she put her magazine down and hoped up on her knees. She put her hands out just above her shoulders, giving Max his cue. Max smiled and walked over and grabbed her hands in his.

"So do you have to leave tomorrow?" she asked

"You know I do" Max told her.

"Don't go, it's boring when you're not here" Julia pleaded. Just then Lucy appeared in the doorway, now changed into pajamas.

"It really is, Dad doesn't have someone to yell at" Lucy added. Max smiled at her sarcastically.

"Okay girls, I've got to go to bed, I'm leaving pretty early tomorrow" Max said as he let go of Julia's hands, grabbed underneath her arms and lifted her off his bed and onto the floor.

"Okay, what time are you heading out tomorrow so we can see you off?" Lucy asked

"I don't know, early. I'll come say goodbye before I go" he told her. Julia had wrapped her arms tightly around his middle.

"Come on Jules, let's go. You can stay with me tonight" Lucy said. Julia gave Max another squeeze.

"Okay, night Max" Julia said finally letting go and following her sister. The girls headed off to Lucy's room, climbed into her bed and fell asleep quickly.

5 AM came very early next morning. Max got himself up and he and his father loaded his car. Once everything was loaded Max headed upstairs to say goodbye to his sisters. He knocked quietly on Lucy's door as he pushed it open. Lucy and Julia were both sound asleep on the bed.

"Girls, I'm heading out" he said quietly, shaking Lucy gently, waking her up.

"What? Oh no, is it time already?" Lucy asked sleepily. Max nodded.

"Yeah, I've got to head out in about 10 minutes if I want to miss traffic and be at school by lunch." He said.

"Okay" Lucy said glumly, as she turned to wake Julia.

"Jules, get up, Max is leaving" she told her.

"No" Julia whined as she slowly opened her eyes and stretched.

"Yeah, it's that time, come give me a hug, I've got to get going." Max said. Julia crawled over Lucy's legs and reached up to hug her brother. As she was hugging him, she started to cry.

"Julia, it's okay. I'm only a phone call away, and besides I'll be home for fall break, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas." Max said reassuringly. After a moment he pulled back and moved to Lucy, who was attempting to hold in her tears.

"Bye Max, call when you get there" Lucy said hugging him tight.

"Will do" he replied, hugging her back. He then gave her a kiss on the cheek and let go. As he started to walk away Julia called out for him.

"Max!" she called, tears still falling from her eyes, she held her hands above her shoulders. He sighed and turned back, grabbed her hands, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm going now, you two go back to sleep, I call you later" Max said. And with that he turned and left. The girls heard him say goodbye to their parents, his car start up, and him drive away. Both girls lay back down on the bed. Julia curled up next to Lucy, holding onto her arm. They fell back asleep quickly, and when they woke a few hours later, the house was eerily quiet. Julia missed her brother already.

--

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Thanks to all who have review so far, I've really appreciated the feedback :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Ch. 5

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Julia spent her Friday at the house. Nancy had called twice begging her to come to Chino's that night so she wasn't left alone with Annabelle and Ricky. After much pleading, she gave in and decided to go. Mostly because she just didn't have the heart to leave Nancy in that situation. She and Nancy were once again using the ploy of spending the night at Annabelle's in order to stay out later.

Max called around 2pm to say that he had arrived on time and got everything back in his apartment. Julia only got to say hi quickly before her mother picked up the phone. Dinner time came and left. Lucy headed out to meet Daniel and Julia packed her bag and headed up the street to her friend's house.

The girls didn't arrive at Chino's until almost 8:30 because Annabelle couldn't decide on an outfit. The place was packed yet again, but as far as Julia could see, Ricky wasn't in sight. This gave Julia and Nancy hope for enjoying the night and headed straight for the dance floor. After dancing for awhile, the girls heard Annabelle squeak.

"He's here!" Annabelle beamed

"Does he see us?" Julia asked. Annabelle waved her arm in the air to get his attention

"He does now!" Annabelle gushed. She started to head over to him. The two hugged and began talking immediately.

"I can't believe he's back" Nancy remarked.

"Did you honestly think he wasn't coming?" Julia asked.

"Well no, but I hoped" Nancy told her, and both girls started laughing. The girls looked over and saw Annabelle and Ricky hang gotten a booth and were motioning them to come and join them. Julia and Nancy sighed then headed over to where they were sitting. Annabelle and Ricky were chatting away, while Nancy and Julia attempted to feign interest. Nancy glanced at her watched and groaned inwardly.

"What?" Julia asked

"It's only been half an hour" Nancy whispered, Julia groaned, it had felt like they had been sitting there for days. Luckily both Annabelle and Ricky were too wrapped up in their conversation to notice. After a few more minutes, Ricky picked up on Julia and Nancy's boredom.

"Hey girls, want go out, go somewhere else?" Ricky asked the three.

"Go where?" Julia asked skeptically.

"My work, it's just down the street, we can hang out, listen to music, and just relax." He suggested

Julia and Nancy just looked at one another.

"Can't we just do that here…aren't we doing that now?" Nancy asked.

"It's loud here, plus I'd love to show you girls where I work" Ricky said

"That's sounds cool!" Annabelle cheered.

"Maybe some other time, I'm getting tired…it's been a long day" Julia told him with a fake smile.

"Don't be such a party pooper Jules. It sounds like fun Ricky" Annabelle interjected

"Annabelle, can we discuss this?" Nancy asked through gritted teeth.

"Why? Come on, let's go before it gets too late" Annabelle said as she and Ricky stood up. Julia and Nancy just looked at one another, they knew they were going to be stuck going. Both of the girls sighed and got up to follow the others. Ricky led the girls a few blocks downtown to an old office building. Ricky got out his keys and unlocked the front door.

"Come on in, my office is on the second floor" he told them. The 3 girls followed dutifully, Annabelle more eager than the other 2. When they arrived on the second floor, the girls looked around in awe. The second floor was a giant loft. On the one side there were many desks that were covered in magazines and pictures. There was also a hallway leading down a corridor with a few doors branching off from it. On the other side was a full photo-studio. There were 2 sets and many cameras. There were many different advertisements gracing the walls.

"What exactly is this place?" Nancy asked.

"This, my friends, is a magic studio" Ricky said dramatically.

"Meaning….?" Julia inquired

"Meaning we can make dreams come true. This is a photo-studio for 2 local magazines. We are in charge of a majority of their advertisements, these are some of our works" Ricky explained, gesturing to the posters around the room. Annabelle walked around and checked out the rooms, she of course was impressed with anything that Ricky did. Julia and Nancy observed the studio from where they were standing. As much as both of the disliked Ricky, they had to admit, this place was pretty impressive.

After Ricky took Annabelle on a quick tour, then the 4 of them settled on chairs near the desks. Ricky handed each of the girls a soda as he and Annabelle picked right up with their conversation. After an hour of chatting and Julia, being unable to sway the conversation to finding out how Ricky knew her brother, was ready to leave. Annabelle was actually the first to yawn, and thankfully Ricky suggested that they all head home. They all stood up, and the girls started heading for the stairs when Ricky called Julia back.

"Ricky can't this wait?" Julia asked as her friends waited for her a few steps down.

"Girls go ahead, I'll walk Julia back" he instructed. Julia looked pleadingly at Nancy, who was frantically thinking up an excuse to stay. Annabelle looked hurt that she wasn't the one who was asked to stay.

"Why don't we just wait downstairs for her" Nancy suggested

"That sounds good, then we can all walk together" Julia added.

"You don't trust me?" Ricky asked sternly.

"No, No, I do, it's just I really want to walk home with my friends, and plus I'm afraid her parents will worry about me, it's definitely not you" Julia answered quickly. Ricky was quiet for a moment.

"Okay, Annabelle, Nancy, could you give us a few minutes please?" he asked. Both girls nodded and headed down the stairs.

"Er—so…" Julia said nervously

"Julia, I've noticed you've been apprehensive of me since we met" Ricky began

"Er--"she stumbled, not sure the best way to respond.

"It's okay, I'm not mad. I just wanted to know how I can make you feel more comfortable, then it dawned on me…what if I offered you a job…what do you think?" he asked

"A job?" she replied, thoroughly confused.

"Yes! As a model, it would be so much fun. I think it would make your brother really proud" he told her

"What does Max have to do with any of this?" Julia asked

"I'm sorry; I didn't fully explain the job. . . Every summer, a bunch of people from my graduating class get together as sort of an informal reunion, we share stories, and bits of our work. For example one of my friends became a chef and he brings food, I work as a photographer for a magazine and I'd bring ads, and stuff like that" Ricky explained.

"I still don't understand why you need me…or why Max would care?" She asked again.

"Julia, you are the future of the high school. I can do a photo-campaign on the school and your section would be all about the future students. You would be perfect, you're the sister of one of the most popular kids from my grade, and you're gorgeous!" he gushed. Julia stood silently.

"Come on, it'll be fun! We can meet once a week, after school. It's a chance for you to have fun, be admired, and possibly jump start a career!" Ricky persuaded.

"I don't know, I don't think I can" she replied.

"Look, why don't you at least come once, just give it a try. But I think you'll have a lot of fun. Not to mention, in less than a year's time Max will be able to see it. I think he'd be very proud of you, doesn't he love poster girls?" Ricky asked. Julia smiled to herself. She didn't like Ricky, but he was offering her a fun opportunity. Plus she might earn some extra respect from Max, rule bending was always something he's enjoyed, and working for Ricky was definitely a giant bend in the rules.

"When next week?" Julia finally asked. Ricky looked ecstatic!

"How's Wednesday right after school sound?" he asked happily.

"That works" she replied as she started walking toward the stairs.

"Oh and Julia, don't tell your family, I really want Max to be surprised" Ricky added. Julia just nodded her head as she went downstairs to greet her friends.

The walk home was a very interesting one for the 3 girls. Annabelle was extremely jealous that Julia got to spend her Wednesday afternoon's with Ricky, while Nancy thought it was a horrible idea and that something was going to go wrong. Julia wasn't sure what to think, but her brain couldn't seem to stop trying to process it for the rest of the weekend. She kept her promise and didn't tell anyone in her family, although she really wanted to tell Lucy.

Julia enjoyed the rest of the weekend lounging around the house. School started back up on Monday, and she was in no hurry to rush back to homework and studying. But alas Monday arrived, and Julia was forced to wake up early and get herself on the bus to Middle School. She was starting 7th grade this year.

Luckily the first day was fairly easy, but by Tuesday the assignments were starting to accumulate. At the end of school on Wednesday, Julia packed up her assignments and headed out the door to begin to make her way downtown when she was stopped by her 2 best friends.

"Are you excited? I would be really excited!" Annabelle greeted cheerily. Lucky for Julia she had given up hating her, and moved to making in depth flirting plans for the next time she saw Ricky.

"I guess I am, I mean, I'm just kind of going" Julia replied.

"I wouldn't go if I were you, just blow him off. Seriously he can't do anything to you if you don't go" Nancy warned.

"I think I'll be okay, I mean it's the 1st day, and if I don't like it I will just tell him I'm not coming back" Julia said strongly.

"Or you could suggest me!" Annabelle added. Julia smiled and nodded

"Or I'll do that" she laughed. The girls said their goodbyes and Julia headed uptown to Ricky's office.

The office had a completely different atmosphere in the daytime. There were a bunch of people, lots of talking, music, and flashes from the cameras going off in the studio.

"Ahh, Julia, you made it!" Ricky greeted warmly, giving her an awkward hug, which she did not reciprocate.

Ricky introduced her to the hair and make-up artists that worked there and a few of the other people in the office.

"So, now that you've met some people, are you ready?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess…what should I do first?" she asked.

"Well today is just a test, see how you are in front of the camera, what needs work, etcetera. " he explained. Julia nodded as he let her over to one of the sets. After a few simple instructions the camera began to flash. Despite herself, Julia had a good time playing model, even though it was just her and Ricky on the set. After shooting for almost an hour, he said they were all done for the day. As Julia was gathering up her things, Ricky came over to talk to her.

"What did you think of today?" he asked.

"It was kind of fun" Julia admitted.

"I'm glad to hear that, because you were great out there" Ricky told her with a smile.

"Thanks" she replied.

"Will you please come back next week? It'll be even better then" he offered.

"Yeah, I'll be here" she said as she headed down the stairs and out of the building. She made her way home, knowing that she wasn't able to share how she felt with her sister. As much as she really wanted to tell her, she'd settle for telling her friends tomorrow at school. Who knew what would all come of this…

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...

Ch 6

POV change…

Max woke up to the loud obnoxious beeping of his alarm clock. He had stayed up late again and wasn't in the mood to go to his Marketing class. He had been back at school for over 2 weeks and this routine was already wearing him out. Finally the endless beeping got to him and he shut off the alarm and dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. Once he got himself dressed and ready he and one of his roommates, Tom, who was also in his class, grabbed some bagels at the dining hall and made their way across campus and into the lecture hall.

As suspected, the class droned on and the boys quickly lost interest. After what seemed like an eternity, the class came to a close, leaving Max and Tom free for the rest of the morning! The two met up with their other roommates, Eddie and JJ, in the quad and spent their late morning playing Frisbee, soccer, and smoking. After enjoying the outdoors for a few hours, they 4 met up with a group of girls from Alpha Delta Pi for lunch in the dining hall. After a long leisurely lunch the guys headed back to their apartment to relax before any of their afternoon classes. Max went inside and flopped on the couch while JJ and Tom started playing darts.

"Hey guys, mail's here" Eddie called as he walked into the living room.

"Anything good?" JJ asked as he lined up his shot.

"A few magazines…oh Max, here's one for you" Eddie said, tossing the large manila envelope on to his chest.

"Thanks" Max replied as he picked it up. He turned it over a few times looking for a return address, but there wasn't one. He shrugged and opened it up, pulling out 3 sheets of paper. The top one was a letter written in sloppy handwriting.

_Max,_

_You were always on top in high school. You always knew what was going on and succeeded in all you did. I may not have had you're luck then, but I'm here to let you know I've got something you want. For the first time I get to enjoy you not getting what you want…because I HAVE IT!_

_I'll be in touch,_

_Your high school "pal"_

Max re-read the not a few times, very confused.

"What the hell?" He asked himself. He put the letter down to see what else had been sent. At that very moment, his heart sunk. The other 2 pages were pictures of Julia. In the first picture she was in a jean skirt and light green button up t-shirt, sitting on a bench. In the second picture, Julia was wearing the same outfit, but this time she was kneeling on the ground playing with a puppy and laughing. So many thoughts a questions raced through his mind, where was she? How did he get these pictures?

"Man, are you okay? You look really pale" Eddie asked Max, who was sitting upright, rigid and breathing heavily.

"I, I, I've got to call home" Max stumbled, as he stood up, dropping the letter, and headed for the phone. The phone rang a dozen times with no answer; Max slammed the phone back on the hook in frustration.

"Whoa! Isn't this your sister?" Eddie asked as he went through the letter Max had dropped.

"Yeah" he replied half-heartedly.

"Do you have any idea who sent you this?" Eddie questioned. Max shook his head.

"No, and I don't know if she's hurt, or what" he replied, sounding frustrated. JJ and Tom came over to find out what was going on.

"Who's hurt?" Tom asked. Max handed him the letter he got. JJ read it over Tom's shoulder.

"This is sick…is this some kind of joke?" JJ asked.

"I don't know what it is, or who's sending it, I just know that I really need to talk to someone at home" Max said.

"I'm in no way supporting this guy and what he's doing, but your sister doesn't look hurt, she looks happy" Tom said nervously. Max glared at him.

"Tom's got a point, I mean she's laughing and playing with a puppy in this one" Eddie added.

"We don't have a dog, and she's not looking at the camera in either photo…it's not a good sign" Max told them as he cracked his knuckles nervously. Tom, JJ, and Eddie all looked at each other, none of them knew what to say.

"Why don't you just wait and call her when she gets home from school" JJ suggested.

"I'm going to, but if she doesn't know that someone is following her, I don't want to scare her." Max said. JJ and Tom nodded, and went back to their game of darts, both were out of suggestions for their friend. Eddie sat quietly with Max, until he had to leave for class.

Max skipped his afternoon class, his mind was elsewhere. His on again off again girlfriend, Patty Hollis, stopped by to visit with him, but he wasn't in the mood to fool around and couldn't bring himself to tell her about the letter. Patty left after she got frustrated with him not talking to her. Finally 3 o'clock rolled around. Max impatiently waited 15 more minutes for his sisters to get home before he called the house again.

"Good Afternoon, Carrigan's"

"Hey Mom, it's me" Max replied.

"Oh hi Max, honey. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine…is um, Julia okay, I mean how is she?" Max asked, talking very quickly.

"Julia's doing fine, she's busy as a bee, but she's doing fine" Mrs. Carrigan replied.

"What's she all doing? Is she happy?" Max inquired

"Max, your sister is fine, they both are. I've never heard you this concerned about her, what is going on?" she asked

"Nothing Mom, I just worry how she's doing" He told her, chickening out on telling her about the letter. He figured that would just worry her, and make life for Julia very difficult. Suddenly, Mrs. Carrigan made a "tisk" noise.

"Oh Maxwell, is this because you heard about the dance?" she asked

"What?" He questioned, thoroughly confused.

"The dance the school is holding for the 7th graders next month. I know it's her first dance, but she'll be fine and she'll have a great time" His mother reassured.

"Uh, yeah, that was it" Max lied with a stutter.

"I just heard the door, let me see who's here…" she began, Max could hear a 'hi mom' in the background.

"Lucy's home, would you like to talk to her?" Mrs. Carrigan asked.

"Yeah, put her on" he replied.

"Alright, it was great talking to you honey, we'll call this weekend. Love you" she said, as she passed the phone to her eldest daughter.

"Hello?" Lucy said as she picked up the phone.

"Hey Luce" Max greeted.

"Hi Max!!" Lucy responded enthusiastically.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Good, you?" she asked him.

"I'm doing alright…I've got a question for you" Max said

"What?" she replied.

"Is Jules okay…I mean has she said anything to you?" he asked sounding nervous.

"She's really busy, lots of after school activities, but she's great, a little tired, but she's doing well" she told him.

"Oh" Max remarked

"You sound disappointed…did you want her to be doing badly?" Lucy asked with a small laugh

"No! Of course not, I just… okay I got this weird letter today and it had pictures of Julia with it" he explained

"WHAT?!" Lucy asked frantically.

"Shhhh, Luce. I don't want her overhearing if she doesn't know; I don't want her to be scared. I just need you to let me know if she tells you anything, because I can be home in a few hours if I need to be" he told her.

"Max, this whole situation is really creepy, but I think she should know though, she should be on guard" she replied

"No, ignorance is bliss. I don't want her to be afraid of everything and everyone" Max said sternly. The two argued over what to do for another minute until Mrs. Carrigan called Lucy to help her in the kitchen.

"Look I've got to go" she said.

"Alright, is Julia there?" he asked.

"No, but I'll tell her you called, and I promise not to tell her about your letter" Lucy told him

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later" Max said

"Bye Max" she replied.

Max still didn't feel good about the letter, but at least he knew his youngest sister was happy and safe. His mood got better that night when he went out with his roommates and the sorority girls, and he was able to sleep easy that night.

--

POV Change back

Julia returned home just before dinner that evening, very tired. Ricky had been keeping her later and later. He was also requiring her to come in on more days of the week. She was quickly starting to regret working for him, especially since the money was very little. She dragged herself up to her room and flopped on her bed, hoping she could be excused from dinner, there was a mound of homework waiting for her in her backpack.

Much to her dismay about 5 minutes after she had layed down on her bed, she was called to dinner. Her parents spent dinner time talking about an upcoming benefit being held at the local country club, allowing Julia to tune them out and attempt to come up with a way to get all of her homework done before midnight that night.

"Max phoned today" Mrs. Carrigan said cheerily. Julia came out of her zoned state.

"He did! Is he calling back?" Julia asked, upset that she had missed him

"I told him we'd call this weekend, but Lucy got a long chat with him, so you can talk more when we call" her mother told her.

"What did he say?" Julia asked Lucy curiously. Lucy looked nervous

"Oh, nothing really, just wanted to check in, wanted to make sure we were all okay" Lucy answered quickly, then turned immediately back to her plate. Julia scrunched up her nose at her sister, while her parents returned to their conversation in the background. It was so obvious that her siblings were planning something. Probably some fun weekend, that she wasn't invited to…so much for being equals.

After all the dishes were cleared Julia headed up to her room to work on her homework. It took her the rest of the evening to finish. As she closed her last textbook, she looked over at the clock and saw it was already 9pm! Julia took a quick shower and was crawling into bed when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in" Julia called. The door opened slowly to reveal Lucy standing in her doorway with a small smile on her face.

"Hey" Lucy greeted.

"Hey" Julia said.

"How are you?" Lucy began

"I'm tired, but I'm okay" Julia replied Lucy nodded.

"Jules ... Max is really worried about you ... and I am too" Lucy said.

"What? Why?" Julia questioned. Lucy paused.

"You know that you can come to me for anything, I mean anything…right?" Lucy asked

"Yeah, what's going on?" Julia asked curiously.

"I don't really know, but is there anything you want to talk about, are you scared, or stressed, do you want to vent…anything?" Lucy asked, attempting to prompt her. Julia just looked at her for a moment, she had no idea what her sister wanted to know, or thought she knew. But suddenly she got an idea. Julia still didn't know all she wanted to about Ricky. Since Max and Lucy were so close, maybe she knew something about him. She couldn't believe she didn't think of this before! Not to mention, Lucy was obviously in the mood to talk, and would be upset if she said nothing…

"I do have a question" Julia stated. Lucy perked up.

"What? It can be anything" Lucy replied, once again trying to prompt her.

"Okay, but you have to PROMISE that this won't leave this room. You can't tell Max or Mom or Dad or Emily or Daniel or any of my friends…nobody!" Julia emphasized.

"Are you sure about Max, I mean he is our brother" Lucy started, but was quickly cut off

"No Lucy! What part of NOBODY aren't you understanding…if you want to tell him, then you can just leave" Julia said frustrated.

"No, no, I'm sorry. Please tell me, and I promise not to tell anyone!" Lucy said, looking very sincere. Julia quickly calmed herself and took a deep breath.

"Who's Ricky Waller?" Julia asked, looking her sister strait in the eye.

"Who?" Lucy asked confused.

"Ricky Waller, he's like Max's age…I just heard the name and I was wondering…what he was like" Julia questioned. Lucy thought for a moment before a look of realization came on her face.

"Oh my god, I remember him. He was this weird kid in Max's grade. He would try to hang out with them, but they never let him. He would always make these weird public announcements when he liked a new girl, as if she would run willing to him" Lucy said laughing as Julia listened intently.

"These girls were always way out of his league, and most of the time Max or his friends would start dating them… just to piss him off. Do you remember Carolyn?" Lucy asked, Julia nodded. Max had dated her for over a year.

"Yeah she was one of Ricky's proclamations. Part of me used to feel bad for him, but once I tried talking to him and he started yelling at me for trying to hit on him!" Lucy said, making a face of disbelief

"It was crazy, but he just got really mad at me. I came home in tears because I was only a freshman and this big senior had yelled at me. The next day, Max and his friends kicked his ass in front of the whole school. This was only a few weeks before graduation, and I heard he showed up to the ceremony, got his diploma and left…no one's seen him since" Lucy finished. Julia's eyes were wide open. She couldn't believe the story. Lucy nodded at her reaction

"I know, crazy right? How did you hear about him anyway" Lucy asked

"I, uh, overheard someone say he was back in town at Chino's" Julia lied.

"Well if he ever gets near you, I'd run. He's got crazy written all over him" Lucy warned, getting off Julia's bed. Julia nodded in understanding.

"It's late, I'm going to go to bed, unless there is anything else…" Lucy said.

"No, I'm good…goodnight!" Julia called

"Night" Lucy said, walking to the door.

"Hey Luce, thanks, you know for being there, and all" Julia said. Lucy smiled back

"No problem" Lucy said, and with that she left. Julia rolled onto her side. She couldn't believe the story about Ricky! But if Max was so mean to him, and he didn't like Lucy, why did he want her? Every outcome that she thought of ended badly. Julia knew that she would have to end her job with Ricky ASAP!

--

A/N: I realize this chapter was a little different, but I hope you all liked it!

Please Read and Review.

A/N2: Thanks so much for all that have review so far! Especially the all the return readers :)


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